2 Children Found Wandering In Wilkinsburg

WILKINSBURG (KDKA) – A woman was arrested after two of her children were found wandering in Wilkinsburg early Tuesday morning.

According to police, all four children were removed from the mother’s home and that Pupoolah Billings left for work knowing that her kids may be left unsupervised.

Billlings, 37, covered her face and said nothing after being arrested for leaving her kids unattended.

Around 1:30 a.m., the woman’s 9-year-old autistic son and 2-year-old daughter were found wandering in Wilkinsburg.

A passerby took them to the Exxon station on Penn Avenue and called police. Billings happened to walk by as police were asking people if they knew the children.

“It just so happened that the mother came upon the police officers and they had this encounter. And it was ascertained that these were her children,” Police Chief Ophelia Coleman said

When police interviewed the mother, it was discovered that two other children, ages six and 11, were at the woman’s home less than a mile away on Cresson Avenue.

Police reported filthy conditions inside the home.

“The conditions in the home were not well. It was unsightly and unkempt,” Chief Coleman said

Billings told police she was a jitney driver and left for work around 9 p.m. She said she left the kids with her 19-year-old daughter.

Billings told police she knew the daughter could only stay until midnight. The daughter allegedly left the home at that time and the kids remained unsupervised until police were alerted to the situation.

“In some ways it’s a happy ending even though it’s a terrible situation that the kids find themselves in. But, it is a happy situation because they are safe and they are sound,” Chief Coleman said

As for the 19-year-old daughter, police said they may end up charging her as well.